Process Engineer, Machinery & Automation

PROCESS ENGINEER, MACHINERY & AUTOMATION 

SpaceX continues to revolutionize the launch industry by combining advanced technological developments with pragmatic and lean manufacturing. The Dispensary (in-house glue factory) produces silicone adhesives, paints, ablatives, and thermal protection materials that support Starship and programs across the company. As a Machinery & Automation Engineer for Starship Materials Production, you will own equipment and tooling from design and procurement through vendor buyoff, factory installation, automation, and production ramp. Scope covers powder systems, industrial mixers, liquid dispensing, and the custom tooling that makes those cells run at rate with minimal operator-dependent variation.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, specify, procure, install, and commission powder handling/dispensing systems, industrial mixers, and liquid dispensing equipment for paints, adhesives, ablatives, sealants, fillers, and other formulated materials\
• Own powder equipment including hoppers, feeders (screw, vibratory, loss-in-weight), weigh/batch systems, dust collection, pneumatic conveying, and powder-to-liquid incorporation
• Own mixers and blending equipment (high-shear, planetary, dual-asymmetric, ribbon, paddle, vacuum, reactors) including agitation, vacuum/degassing, temperature control, seals, cleanability, and integration with upstream feed and downstream dispense/packaging
• Own liquid dispensing systems including pumps, meters, valves, manifolds, tanks, pressure/vacuum and temperature control, and single- or multi-component meter-mix-dispense platforms
• Automate production cells with sensors, motion, recipe/batch control, interlocks, data logging, and PLC/HMI/SCADA integration to maximize unattended or semi-attended operation
• Design custom tooling and fixtures that enable automation (dispense/hold tooling, changeover tooling, transfer tooling, alignment jigs, poke-yoke, robot/gantry interfaces); take tooling from CAD through fabrication, tryout, and production release
• Lead capital equipment projects cradle-to-grave: vendor selection, design reviews, SOWs, procurement, factory acceptance testing (FAT) at vendor sites, site acceptance testing (SAT), installation, and ramp
• Travel to vendors to execute FATs, validate rate/accuracy/repeatability/cleanability/safety, and drive design corrections before shipment
• Productionize equipment and processes for new product introductions (NPIs), including work instructions, control plans, and rate capability demonstration
• Partner with materials, quality, production, and design to ensure formulations are mixable and dispensable at scale and meet flight quality requirements
• Drive root cause analysis, design of experiments (DOE), and statistical process control (SPC) on mix and dispense performance; continuous improvement for throughput, changeover, cleanability, dust control, and cost
• Develop and maintain process specifications, SOPs, and equipment documentation; train technicians and hand off reliable cells to production
• Support hazardous materials handling, containment, and EHS requirements for solvent-based, reactive, and powder chemistries

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, manufacturing engineering, or related technical discipline
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with powder handling/dispensing, industrial mixers, liquid dispensing, fluid delivery, or chemical/materials production equipment

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience designing, specifying, or commissioning production equipment
• Experience designing tooling or fixtures for manufacturing or automation
• Experience across powder systems, mixers, liquid automation/dispensing, and tooling design for automation in a production environment
• Powder systems: loss-in-weight or gain-in-weight feeders, hoppers, pneumatic convey, dust collection, powder weigh/batch, powder incorporation into liquids/pastes
• Mixers: high-shear, planetary, dual-asymmetric, ribbon, paddle, vacuum, or reactor-style; mix scale-up; vacuum degassing; temperature-controlled mixing; multi-product changeover
• Liquid automation: piston/progressive cavity/gear pumps, meter-mix-dispense (MMD), pressure pots, cartridge or spray systems, robotic/automated dispense, recipe-driven multi-component control
• Tooling design for automation using 3D CA